For decades, burning coal was mainly how power companies generated the electricity to cool homes, run factories, and brighten streets. But coal has faded, and natural gas last year passed it as the leading source of electricity in the U.S.

Don Blankenship, a former coal executive who served a year in prison for conspiring to violate mine-safety laws before a 2010 mine disaster, is running for Senate in West Virginia, a Republican official said.

Oil giant Total SA has agreed to buy French utility Engie SA’s liquefied-natural gas business for as much as $2 billion in a deal that would eventually make it the second-largest LNG player among Western energy firms.

When some of the world’s largest energy companies report earnings next week, it will provide a glimpse into whether they are improving profitability as oil prices continue to hover around $50 a barrel.

TransCanada Corp’. s decision to end development of two Canadian energy pipelines is another setback for Canadian energy producers, who have been clamoring to get their landlocked oil and gas to markets in Europe and Asia and reduce dependence on the U.S.

A company whose name stands for Danish Oil and Natural Gas is getting out of both businesses, part of a broader plan to cut its exposure to fossil fuels and produce energy primarily from renewable sources.

Hurricane Harvey forced refineries that make up nearly 5% of U.S. fuel-making capacity to shut down, and more facilities remained under threat as the storm moved through the heart of the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure.